August 6, 2015 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Mark
McLean announced record home sales for the month of July. Greater Toronto Area
REALTORS® reported 9,880 sales through TREB's MLS® System, representing an
eight per cent increase compared to July 2014. The number of transactions were
up for all major home types, including a doubledigit year-over-year increase in
condominium apartment sales.
"As we move towards a new record
for home sales this year, it is important to point out that home ownership
demand has been driven not only by low borrowing costs, but also by the fact
that the GTA economy has been performing quite well, with the unemployment rate
lower compared to last year. Home buyers remain confident in the long-term
benefits of owning a home," said Mr. McLean.
The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI)
Composite Benchmark, which accounts for benchmark home prices in communities
throughout the TREB market area, was up by 9.4 per cent yearover- year in July
2015. Over the same period, the average selling price was up by a slightly
greater amount, growing by 10.6 per cent annually to $609,236.
Detached homes continued to lead the
way in terms of price increases, with annual growth in the average selling
price outstripping growth in the MLS® HPI detached benchmark. This suggests
that there continued to be a greater share of high-end homes sold this year
compared to last.
"With the level of inventory in
the GTA trending below two months, many listings continued to generate a lot of
interest from buyers. Not surprisingly, this supported further price increases
well-above the rate of inflation. Assuming similar interest rate and economic
environments over the next five months, strong price growth will remain the
norm for the rest of 2015," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Director of Market
Analysis.
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